What is ethical? According to the Oxford English Dictionary the term ethical may be defined as: ‘of or pertaining to morality or the science of ethics; pertaining to morals’ (2002, p. 864). However, based on this definition, an ethical person may be different based on the country, culture, and ultimately, that person’s perspective and the perspective of those people living in that person’s environment. What one person may view as ethical in Asia may not be perceived as ethical in Australia and vice versa.

Fundamentally, unethical decisions are a function of the individual decision maker, who has low ethical principles; however, what is considered ethical or unethical may change based on a person’s work environment, such as the country he or she lives or works within, the culture of that environment and what is considered to be the organisational norm.

Cavanagh, Moberg and Valasquez suggest ‘an individual can use three different criteria in making ethical choices’ (1981, p. 265). These include: utilitarianism, which is the goal to provide the greatest good for the greatest number of people (Robbins et al 2004, p. 151); rights, which calls upon individuals to make decisions consistent with fundamental liberties, such as the right to privacy, free speech and due process; and justice, which requires individuals to impose and enforce rules fairly and impartially so that there can equitable distribution of benefits and costs.

According to Kohlberg the ‘evidence indicates that people with high ethical principles will follow them in spite of what others do or the dictates of organisational norms’ (cited by Robbins et al 2004, p. 152). However, it is just as evident that if a ‘person’s ethical development is not of the highest level, he or she is more likely to be influenced by strong cultures’ (Robbins et al 2004, p. 152-3).